After a very long search I finally found the guitar I have been looking for. I made a detour while coming home from a business trip today and decided to check out a Guitar Center that I knew was just off the route I was traveling. I had been looking for the better part of a year to find a Les Paul Standard. I knew I wanted either a Heritage Cherrry Sunburst or a DesertBurst but I wanted to find that perfect specimen that had the perfect flame top. I walked in and there it was. When I asked the tech to take it down for me he told me that another guy who worked at the store was going to buy it this evening when he came in for his shift. The rest is history. I walked out the proud owner of a 2007 Les Paul Standard. Here she is:

After a very long search I finally found the guitar I have been looking for. I made a detour while coming home from a business trip today and decided to check out a Guitar Center that I knew was just off the route I was traveling. I had been looking for the better part of a year to find a Les Paul Standard. I knew I wanted either a Heritage Cherrry Sunburst or a DesertBurst but I wanted to find that perfect specimen that had the perfect flame top. I walked in and there it was. When I asked the tech to take it down for me he told me that another guy who worked at the store was going to buy it this evening when he came in for his shift. The rest is history. I walked out the proud owner of a 2007 Les Paul Standard. Here she is:

I don't think that is a AA top, looks like AAA to me. Cherry Sunburst is great, however, I myself have a Coffee burst Studio Premium with a similar top, broader stripes though. But either AAA or could be, so quite nice. Certainly your burst is superior to most Cherry Sunburst tops, so I would be pleased if I were you.

Sometime I will go back to this thread and post my coffee burst, so you can compare. I will email you when I do that. I am finding it increasingly difficult to want to play anything but a Les Paul anymore.

QUOTE (fkalich @ Dec 19 2007, 02:46 AM)

I don't think that is a AA top, looks like AAA to me. Cherry Sunburst is great, however, I myself have a Coffee burst Studio Premium with a similar top, broader stripes though. But either AAA or could be, so quite nice. Certainly your burst is superior to most Cherry Sunburst tops, so I would be pleased if I were you.

Sometime I will go back to this thread and post my coffee burst, so you can compare. I will email you when I do that. I am finding it increasingly difficult to want to play anything but a Les Paul anymore.

edit: I know the standards are supposed to have AA tops, but I think sometimes Gibson just has AAA handy and they use them instead. I have seen most Standards don't have nearly as nice a burst as that.

Thanks for all of the comments. I agree that this does not seem like a AA top. I made the same comment to the guy at the store. It is the 60's style slim taper neck. I have smaller hands and I have been using an Ibenez with a super thin neck for years so I needed something in between. Andrew just be ready on Christmas eve when Santa asks you to get up and guide his sleigh. I know it will seem rough at the time but don't forget that the next day you will be invited to play in the reindeer games.

My co-workers Les Pauls have the same finish. There is a Les Paul forum, www.lespaulforum.com, that you can check out - these guys are hardcore about their guitars and give you all the need to know info on your finish etc.

Something that you want to watch out for on your finish is it cracking. If you go out in the cold and come in make sure to let your guitar come up to room tempature first before you crack the case. Otherwise your finish will crack and spider.

What is cool is that it should fade really nicely over time. Is your Les Paul a VOS?